Ask The Bounty's Hunt begins

[Kaedan]

Ever since Kaedan met Shaw at the padawan hang out, he wanted a chance to get to know his fellow padawan better. The perfect opportunity came when Kaedan asked him to assist him on a mission. The mission was an absolute success and the duo were on their way back to Takodana. Seeing that they had time, Kaedan decided that they should take the 'scenic' route, promising a great reward in the process. He touched the ship down on a planet in the mid rim that was quite hot.

The planet was filled with factories and industrialization. With skyscrapers off in the distance, Kaedan led Shaw through an area that would be considered the slums. As they walked together, Kaedan smiled. "I know it may become overbearingly uncomfortable here but trust me, the reward will be worth it." What Kaedan didn't say was their reward was a Coruscanti market vendor with a stash of premium goods which included Turbo Dogs. "So, tell me about your life before joining the order and now that you're a padawan."

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Whatever this "great reward" Kaedan kept talking about must have really been something for them to make a special pit stop on the way back to Takodana and leave the accompanying Jedi Knight back in the ship. The older Jedi had been on the phone for hours and had waved the padawans off when they had attempted to let him know they were leaving, his only instructions to "hurry back." Relationship problems, that was what it was the teenage boys had decided upon descending the boarding ramp.

Now that they were in the heart of the city, conversation picked back up again. "Naaah," Shaw replied, already tugging at his collar. "This kinda reminds me of my homeworld actually. Coruscant." Minus the dry air and the stifling heat, but the skyscrapers and manufacturing plants felt like home alright. He wondered how his family was doing? It had been a few weeks since he had heard from them. Maliah must have really shot up in the last year. He wondered if she would still allow him to braid her hair or if she had already gotten to that age where little brothers aren't so cool anymore.

"Coruscant born and raised," Shaw answered the other padawan's question, kicking at a stray can on the sidewalk. "Had to leave when all those razelings showed up. Had never stepped foot offworld until my parents sent me to the order." He glanced over at Kaeden. "What about you? Where are you from?" @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

Kaedan smiled when Shaw expressed that the incredibly hot planet they were on reminded him about his home, Coruscant. Wait was the planet as hot and humid as this place? Or maybe he was referring to the fact that this planet had Highrise buildings, skyscrapers and manufacturing plants. Yeah, that made more sense. While he never been to Coruscant, he saw images of the planet on his EZPhone sometime back. It looked absolutely beautiful and he wished he could have seen it in person.

Kaedan frowned when Shaw expressed that he had to leave his home when the Razelings showed up. Now he was forced to travel unknown territories. At least, his parents sent him to the Jedi Order. What about the millions of people who lost their homes and didn’t have a Jedi Order to go to? “What happened to Coruscant and Corellia and all the other places those Abominations infested is a real tragedy. I’m sorry.”

When the conversation shifted to him, a small smile crept into his face. “I was born on the planet Rion. It’s a nature kind of planet with little industrialization. There are a few plants here and there but that’s about it.” He smiled, wiping a bit of sweat from his brow. “I left when I was six. I had discovered my force abilities and I was a danger to myself and my folks so the Jedi came and picked me up and I have been on Takodana ever since.”

“I believed that I needed to get strong and become a Jedi Knight. That responsibility and duty kept me engaged and I didn’t really make much time for socializing.” Seeing the marketplace, Kaedan rushed forward and joined the long line. “Luckily, I holoed my parents often. It still didn’t top me going back to that place and seeing them; heck, I even ended up inheriting my mom’s ship so that was nice.”

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

A year removed from the total fall and collapse of Coruscant didn't mean it stung any less, but Shaw had learned how to field the questions and the condolences. Shaw looked over at Kaedan and offered him a smile. He didn't want people to ever feel like they had to walk on eggshells around him. Everyone in the Jedi—everyone in the galaxy had their own tragic story, their own loss that they had been forced to stuffer. Shaw's was just one of the many, and really when it came right down to it he was one of the lucky ones. He had made it off Coruscant. His family had made it off Coruscant. Even if he missed them miserably, at least they were alive. They were safe. "Don't worry, dude. My family made it off."

Six? Shaw raised an eyebrow, studying the other teenager's face to see how he felt about that. "You've been with the Jedi since you were six?" he asked, just to make sure he had heard Kaedan right. "That's a long time, dude." He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his pants. Was that normal, to come to the order so young? The amount of stuff Kaeden must have witnessed the last decade... "What do you mean you were a danger to your family?" Shaw asked, genuinely curious. He realized that was kinda a personal question, so if Kaedan brushed it off that was fine by Shaw. He wasn't the type to push.

By the time the teenage boys reached the marketplace, Shaw's stomach was starting to grumble. "I hope whatever you got planned involves some food. I'm starving." An over exaggeration of course, but all of the different smells were starting to make Shaw hungry. Not that it took much to make him hungry. @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

It was a relief to hear that Shaw's family made it off world. "That's good to hear." Since Shaw wasn't worrying about it and his family was safe there wasn't much else to say about it. All they could do at this point is hope that one day the planets affected by Raze would be liberated and returned to their former glory.

Kaedan nodded and gave a confirmation hmm when Shaw asked about him being with the Jedi since he was six. "It was a long time and most of it had been lonely. I guess it be that way when the only people I was 'friends' with were my tutors." He sighed before looking up. "But the hard work paid off. Now I have the time and opportunity to make some real friends." Did he envy the padawans who joined the order in their teen years and had a childhood? No, even so, he wondered what it would have been like had he been raised at home with his folks. Chances are, he wouldn't be in the order today.

"Hmm?" Kaedan looked over at Shaw. "Oh... I had uncontrollable bursts of using the force at times. Neither of my parents could help me and they weren't prepared to raise a force sensitive child. After they sat me down and told me that they wanted the best for me, they contacted the order and ever since I was a member." His fingertips tapped the familiar metals of his lightsaber for comfort. "They taught me all they could before I was inducted into the order. With their two diverse backgrounds, I was trained in many forms of combat by six. After that, using a practice saber seemed like child's play."

When they made it to the market, Kaedan chuckled at Shaw's stomach grumbling. "Oh trust me, there is food involved. The seller ahead of us has some of the best kinds of food and I think you're going to love what we are getting. We just need the line to move faster."

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

"Yeah, you do," Shaw grinned when Kaedan said that now he finally had time to make some friends. Shaw had taken an instant liking to the long haired padawan when they had first met. It was hard not to when the guy brought turbo dogs and had a sleek swoop bike. It was only natural that friendship would follow.

Brown eyes considered the other padawan, and Shaw sucked in a breath before he continued. "About the cookout," he started to say, the memory more than a bit of a sore subject with the teenager when he considered his behavior and how the evening had ended. "I never did thank you for letting me know Prani was leaving." Well, maybe he had, but even if he had Kaedan deserved to hear it again. "Thanks, man. You're a real one for that, you know it dude?" He gave Kaedan a fist bump, and that was that.

Time to think about something else. Shaw tried to peek ahead to find out what they were getting, but the line was too long and he couldn't see the sign. "Sooo," Shaw began, "Keep in contact with your family much?" Eleven years was a long time to be away from home. Could it even be considered home anymore? It was another personal question, but hopefully Kaedan knew that he didn't have to answer any questions that he didn't want to. @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

When Shaw brought up the cookout, it stunned Kaedan. He wondered if Shaw found out just what he did after he took off. The night did not end how he expected but at this point, who cared. He did what he did and had no regrets. He wasn't some pushover that would allow anyone to disrespect him for no reason. Luckily, Shaw spoke again, thanking him for the alert of Prani's departure. "You're welcome. I'm glad that I was able to help out, even if it costed me getting pizza chucked on my shirt by Theia." He fist bumped Shaw and folded his arms.

Kaedan stepped forward once as the line slowly moved up one space. "Oh... uh... yeah. I spent the last couple of years speaking to them over the holo then a couple of months ago I returned home for the first time. Since then, I spend a bit of time there." A smile crept onto his face. "Funny thing, my dad recently got a promotion to Commander of the Planetary Defense Force so I'm going to head home soon to celebrate with my folks."

Before it was Shaw but now it was his stomach's turn to grumble. "If the food here wasn't the best I had, I would settle for a nutrient bar." Nutrient bars weren't tasty by any means necessary. They were meant to provide a good set of nutrients all in one. During his training as a youngling, he was given many of them and now he was accustomed to the idea of having them whenever. "So, you and Prani, are you two... y'know, dating?"

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw had told himself that he wouldn't discuss the cookout further. That he would thank Kaedan for being a real one and then move on, but the question had to be asked now. "Hold up. Did you say Theia chucked pizza at you?" Or had he misheard the other teenager? There were lots of follow up questions, too, if he had heard him right, but Shaw would keep those to himself. Like 'Why would Theia chuck pizza at you?' and 'Was it an accident?' and 'Don't tell me it was the grub n' crunch!' The kind of stuff better left unsaid probably, at least for now.

Commander of Rion's Planetary Defense Force. That sounded like a really big deal! "That's dope," Shaw grinned over at the other teenager, nodding. "Bet you're really proud. Will that change things for your family much?"

Prani. Shaw's favorite subject these days. One of the few things that could take his mind off an empty stomach, too. "We are now," Shaw grinned, beaming. He held up the boyfriend bracelet Prani had made for him. "All booed up." She had decided to give him a second chance, and Shaw was going to try his hardest not to make her regret it.

Shuffling forward in the line and hoping they would reach the front soon, Shaw would ask, "Aight. I got a question for you. You work for EZ Tech, right?" A little info Shaw had picked up somewhere, probably from another padawan. He couldn't really remember. "That how you get that crotch rocket you drive around?" @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

Kaedan was surprised that Shaw didn't hear of the aftermath of his departure. "Yeah, she was pissed at me. She believes I had a problem with you and her. From my observation, I think she likes you and because I interrupted your time of being close together, she acted out in anger." He folded his arms as they walked along the path. "Well, I ended up retaliating in my own way. What's done was done."

He smiled when Shaw hyped up the fact that Kaedan's dad got the promotion. "Oh yeah, I'm proud of him. It won't be much change to the family. More so the change will be to his duties in organizing patrols and making sure that all defenses are online. At least, that's what he told me." There was pride in Kaedan's voice as he spoke about his dad. While he may have only lived with his parents for 6 years, he loved them deeply and was proud of them.

Kaedan brought up his observation about Prani and Shaw. He figured they were a couple based on the way she acted at the cookout but he wasn't entirely sure. Additionally, Shaw thanked him for letting him know that she was leaving. So, of course Kaedan would want to know if they were officially a thing. Kaedan chuckled when Shaw held up the bracelet. "Not going to lie, that's kind of cute. It looks handmade so I am guessing Prani made it for you." While he wasn't in any romantic engagements, he had an appreciation for such things, especially given how his parents met. "Good for you. Just make sure that you never make her feel like she doesn't matter and you will be fine."

As they moved on up in the line, Shaw brought up EZTech and Kaedan's employment. "Yeah, I do." He showed Shaw his EZTech badge before putting it away. "The swoop bike is in the benefits. Actually, we got some new tech being developed. It should be safe for me to mention that since I saw it being advertised in the Holonet news. It's going to be the first generation of a datawatch. I guess that much is known but other things about it are classified."

Finally, they were able to make it to the front. The owner of the stall was a green female Rodian. "Hey Chivu, we're here for some turbo dogs; the ready to eat kind." Kaedan placed down credits and the Rodian nodded. "You got it, kid."

In no time, Chivu was back with the turbo dogs. "Thanks for yuh business."

With the food in hand, Kaedan started the trek back to the ship. "Like the reward? You did say you like turbo dogs and since we didn't get to have any at the cookout, I figured why not grab some on our way back to Takodana."

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw sucked in a breath and then stuck a finger in his ear to scratch an itch. Just what had happened at that cookout? And just how much of it had been his own fault? He felt the familiar pang of guilt at that thought. Was this sort of stuff one of the reasons why Master Valtiere seemed to avoid the temples at all costs? Shaw was too young and naïve and caught up in it all to realize that this was all very much teenager stuff. Not the sort of thing Master Valtiere would have allowed himself to get caught up in.

"Yep," Shaw nodded, taking one last look at the two bracelets before allowing his wrist to fall back to his side where it belonged. "She's crazy talented with stuff like that. Always acts like it's no big deal too." Which it was. Shaw was currently working on a bracelet for Prani and it was no easy thing. Kaedan's advice was sage. Like something a much older man would have said. Why could Shaw never come up with little nuggets of wisdom like that? "Don't worry," Shaw said, "But... thanks." After the cookout Shaw was going to try his hardest not to make Prani regret giving him a second chance.

New tech, huh? "Sounds like you've got a pretty important job!" Shaw observed. "So what all can this new datawatch do?" If Kaedan was allowed to talk about it. Shaw hadn't seen any of the commercials advertising the new tech yet but probably would eventually. So the swoop bike was in the benefits. Those were some pretty sick benefits. "Don't happen to know of any openings, do you?" he asked.

One bite, and Shaw felt like he was right back on Coruscant again. Rushing out with his buddies after school to grab a bite to eat and stir up some trouble. He looked over at the other padawan, a smile lifting his lips. The present had its perks too. Kaedan was a pretty considerate guy. "These hit the spot, dude," Shaw said, approval obvious. After a few more bites, "Can you believe some people think they're made of skrat meat?" Actually Shaw could believe it, but he was never gonna admit it. @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

”That’s impressive.” Kaedan chuckled as Shaw spoke of how talented Prani was and it came with a side of humility too. Shaw also told him not to worry about him making her feel like she doesn’t matter. Kaedan could only guess that his friend learned the lesson quickly.

Kaedan shrugged when Shaw told him he had an important job. “I wouldn’t go that far and say that. I think the developers are the important ones. Yeah, every one is important to the business but I would say the tech and development division are the ones who really are the most important.” Okay, maybe being a tester of the technology and a data collector was important but he still believed that there were more important positions. “It has many features that the EZPhone has and it easily integrates with the EZ app and all EZTech. I’ll let you know more about the launch when that time comes.” Then came the question about openings. Kaedan scratched his head before shrugging. “I’m not sure but I can check with H.R and maybe put forward your name as a referral for a potential hire.”

The walk back to the ship wasn’t as bad as the walk towards the market. Maybe it was because there were turbo dogs being eaten and the two weren’t starving. “Oh? Skrat? Wait, are they made from Skrat meat or something similar that people think that?”

Kaedan walked up the ramp and immediately made his way to the pilot seat, sitting and finishing his meal. “Next stop, Takodana.” He used the force to push any trash he had towards the waste disposal area before facing front. He flipped switches and powered up the ship. He checked the fuel, the shields and the engine levels; everything was looking good. The ship took off and climbed until it was out of the planet’s atmosphere.

@throwitintothefire

 

[Shaw Amaris]

Shaw waved Kaedan off. "You're just being modest, dude," and he wouldn't convince Shaw of anything different. When the long haired teenager said that he would be willing to put in a good word for Shaw, he clapped him on the back. "For real? You wouldn't mind? That would be dope." Shaw really needed some kind of part-time job to earn some credits.

Back on Coruscant that had never been a problem. He had always been able to find work, odd jobs here and there whenever he needed to. It was a lot trickier now that he was with the Jedi and traveled so much. Maybe it wouldn't be a good fit, but it was worth a shot. "I'd really appreciate it, man. I could do... I could do something." Shaw really wasn't an electronics expert by any stretch of the imagination, but surely there was some kind of job he'd be the right fit for. "I'd make a wicked errand boy," he grinned over at the other teenager, "Can memorize 38 coffee orders per minute!"

Honest answer? "I have no idea what they're made of, and at this point I'm afraid to ask. I don't want to ruin the experience." Half the fun of eating turbo dogs was the mystery of it all. That 50/50 chance that you might end up sick hours later. What was life without a little risk? Shaw kicked back and watched Kaedan take control of the ship. He was a natural behind the controls, and Shaw liked to watch him pilot the ship since he didn't know the first thing about it.

Once there was nothing but endless space to stare off into, Shaw asked, "What kinda bangers you jam out to? Hit me with your best bops." @StephDLegend

 

[Kaedan]

He chuckled when Shaw called him modest and nodded when the other teenager was shocked that he would make the referral. "Yeah. It's not a problem." As Shaw talked himself up as a high end errand boy, Kaedan stifled a laugh. "I'm sure they wouldn't make you an errand boy. To besides, there would be an added benefit of sales with how famous you are around the jedi circles."

When the conversation went to turbo dogs, Kaedan had to agree with Shaw on keeping what they were made of secret. "I'm with you on that. I probably will eat many things but there are some things that are on my black list, like bugs." He chuckled as he settled into his pilot seat. As they took off into space, Shaw asked about Bangers? and bops? Was this slang for music? "Uhhh... assuming you're referring to the music I listen to... uh...I listened to tranquil meditation music for years to help with my training and meditation. Recently, I have been listening to all kinds of tunes on the EZ Music app. I don't have a favorite. What about you?"

Just before the ship got to the jump point that would get them to Takodana, the ship trembled. Lights flashed red as 3 dots appeared on the radar. "Dank Ferrick!" Kaedan flicked a few switched before yanking the yoke to the right, cause the ship to barrel roll narrowly avoiding a barrage of incoming fire. With a deft flick of his wrist, he adjusted the throttle, pushing the ship to its limits. The three enemy ship were relentless and their shots eventually hit the mark. Blast, rear shields are down. weapon systems offline and hyperdrive is unusable!

"Brace for the worst." He said in the calmest voice ever. Even in the face of uncertainty, especially when he was behind the controls of a ship, he was in his element. He flicked a few switches, diverting all other power to the engines, giving them a speed boost. He pushed the yoke forward and dove, heading towards the nearest moon. The enemy ships followed but they didn't shoot at them anymore. Strange.

As the ship entered the atmosphere, the viewport looked as if it was burning up but they were safe from feeling the intense heat. Once they were inside the atmosphere, Kaedan looked for a place to touch down, only finding a field of wheat ahead. "This is going to be rough." He pulled back trying to slow down the ship as best he could while engaging the landing gear. The landing gear was jammed and not moving. He knew that he couldn't let that stop him so he slowly put the ship down into the fields, it sliding for a while before coming to a stop.

"Everyone alright?" Kaedan asked as he got up, using the force to grab his vibro-knife and lightsaber from his satchel. He attached the lightsaber to his hilt and he slid the vibro-knife into its sheath located on the other side of his obi. He lowered the ramp and sighed.

@throwitintothefire